Freund: ‘Fireworks in the second half’ | OneFootball

“It was a crazy game,” said sporting director Christoph Freund in summary of Bayern’s remarkable 8-0 Bundesliga win over Darmstadt on Saturday. After three red cards in a goalless first half at the Allianz Arena, fans then saw a blistering display with eight goals scored inside 38 second-half minutes. Players and the coach where unsurprisingly pleased with the result and also the return of captain Manuel Neuer. “I've rarely been happier than this that I’ve finally done it,” the goalkeeper stated. fcbayern.com rounds up the reaction to the game.

Reaction to Bayern vs. Darmstadt

Christoph Freund: “It was a crazy game. The first half was already strange with three red cards, and then it was fireworks in the second half. A super afternoon all told.”

Thomas Tuchel: “That was a crazy first half against a good opponent. We had problems settling after going a man down. Our first half was too full of errors, lacked intensity. We gathered ourselves at half-time. The answer then came. It was an extraordinary game, being a man down, level and then up. We created a lot of chances in the second half. Credit to my team for that reaction. Now we move on.”

Manuel Neuer: “I was positively excited and in some anticipation of what was going to happen out there. I was just really excited to be back at the Allianz Arena, to play in front of my own fans and to be on the pitch with the team. There were definitely ups and downs, but I always had the will to return. I'm still very ambitious and I managed to do that with a lot of experts, doctors, fitness coaches and coaches, and I'm very grateful to them. I’m someone who loves to train. The other thing was the mental aspect, whether it would work out again. I always believed in it. I've rarely been happier than this, to have finally made it and that so many who accompanied me were in the stadium today."

Harry Kane: “Scoring a hat-trick is always an amazing feeling for a striker. But the thanks go to my teammates who created a lot of chances for me. The ball will obviously take a special place at home. Myself and all the others are very pleased Manuel is back. He gives us great certainty and leads from the front. He’s one of the best goalkeepers in history.”

Konrad Laimer: “We really didn’t manage to create any pressure in the first half. But we showed a very good reaction in the second. We were playing man-to-man up front and then used our quality. I’m delighted that Manu’s back fit after so much suffering, and I’m looking forward to hopefully many games with him.”

Reaction from the Darmstadt camp

Torsten Lieberknecht (head coach): “It was a very strange game, also with the red cards. We were very brave in the first half. I would’ve preferred to go 1-0 up than be a man up. We had big intentions in possession. Bayern then pulled the plug on us when we were a man down. I was suffering with my team. We’ll now lick our wounds.”

Marcel Schuhen (goalkeeper): “We had a very good first half and forced Bayern into a red card. We were in the game and had a huge chance through Marvin Mehlem, and then got two red cards of our own with similar situations. It was then tough. I’ve never experienced what then happened in the second half. Obviously, today’s game was not our benchmark. But the first half was what we imagine of ourselves. In the, end they just picked us apart.”

Marvin Mehlem (midfielder): “We played against one of the best teams in the world and were really excited about it. I’m proud of the team for how we played in the first half. Then things went against us with the red cards and it’s then tough to get something away at Bayern.”

Read more about what happened in our match report:

Rampant Bayern score eight as Neuer returns